González v. Ortiz
González v. Ortiz
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
There is no dispute over the facts in this case. It was
“Section 1426. — The owners of the adjacent lands shall also have the right of redemption when the sale of a rural estate is involved the area of which does not exceed one hectare.
“The right referred to in the preceding paragraph is not applicable to adjacent lands which are divided by brooks, drains, ravines, roads, and other apparent easements for the benefit of other estates.
“If two or more adjacent owners should make use of the redemption at the same time, the one who is the owner of the adjacent land of lesser area shall be preferred; and, should both be equal in area, the person who first requested it.”
The strip of property in question, adjacent to the land of the complainant, has an area which does not exceed one hectare, and was sold to the defendant within nine days before the filing of the complaint. The first question is whether or not the said strip should be considered a rural estate. The land of the complainant is described as follows:
“Rural property situated in the wards of Santiago and Lima of the municipal district of Naguabo, composed of twenty cuerdas, bounded on the north by lands of Fernando Gronzález; on the east by Alejandro Davila; on the south by Vicente Serra, and on the west by the road leading from Naguabo-to Fajardo. This property is divided from east to west by a parcel of land crossing it from one side to the other which shall be mentioned hereinafter.”
That of the defendant is as follows:
“Rural property in the wards of Santiago and Lima, composed of two cuerdas, equivalent to 78 ares and centares, bounded on the east by said Alejandro Davila; on the west by the road leading from Naguabo to Fajardo, and on the north and south by the main property from which it was segregated which is the property of the complainant herein.”
There is no question^ that the land of the complainant is entirely rural, dedicated to farming purposes and remote
The appellant also maintains that by reason of his contract with the former owner and the existence of the railroad he has acquired some rights. He does not come under the second paragraph of section 1426 because the said strip is not divided by a brook, ravine or easement for the benefit of another estate. Defendant is in no sense the owner of a dominant tenement and can not claim a servitude over the land as against the complainant, even if such a question could properly be raised in a suit for legal redemption. The judgment must be
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.